Bollywood Fiancé for a Day Read Online Free
Author: Ruchi Vasudeva
losing peopleâs goodwill and not living up to their expectations. Even when he was doing it for free.
âKicking their heelsâ, Vishakha had said. It couldnât be helped. The columnists were certainly going to have some fodder for tomorrowâs page three.
Hell, it hadnât even been his fault. The filming that should have finished this morning had been delayed till late afternoon. All thanks to Mia, his current leading lady. He knew her tantrums were designed precisely to drive him up the wall. He had to admit sheâd been succeeding admirably. Sheâd known he had a busy schedule today. She could wrap his PA around her charming finger and get that information with little effort. She hadnât let the shot be finalized till the director had come close to chewing off his fingers, his nails already long gone. The price the poor guy was paying for having a âheroineâ, as the old-fashioned term went, for a wife.
Thank God heâd escaped the traps Mia had set him when sheâd decided she should settle down for good. After witnessing his parentsâ fiasco of a marriage and a first-hand view of how spouses could wreak misery on each other, he had no wish to fall into that trap.
There was no difference between his father and a walking zombie where feelings were concerned and his mother had always lived up to the silent suffering wife stereotype. He knew sheâd been hurt so much, trapped in a marriage with a cold, indifferent man like his dad. No, his parentsâ relationship didnât inspire one to rush into the institution of marriage and he didnât want to get manacled any time soon. So heâd avoided Mia and her clever attempts to sink her elegant but deadly claws into him.
However, dodging the bullet had whetted the actressâs appetite that marital bliss with an upcoming director had failed to appease. Mia still pursued him in her own way. Sheâd tried to delay him so he would miss the charity programme and instead have to attend the after-shoot party she had organized. Sheâd known he wouldnât leave till the work was finished. Permission to shoot at Chittorgarh Fort had been given by the authorities for a limited time and the pack up had to be that day. So sheâd taken it on herself to interfere with his peace, and to an extent had succeeded.
His attention returned to Vishakha, chin tilted up, soft mouth pursed. She did have a point. He couldnât deny he was leaving just to meet his own engagements. It certainly wasnât going to be easy on his conscience to ignore her jibe.
Instinct rebelled against conceding to her. But, reluctant though he might be to give in to the reproach in her big brown eyes, he realized heâd have to if he hoped for a good nightâs sleep. Despite eight successful years in Bollywood, he hadnât lost touch with reality. The fans who had made him a huge success could pull him down any time. He never forgot those initial shoe-tearing, soul-wearing years of struggle and he never displeased people if he could help it.
The feeling which had been like a fly nagging him now assumed the eye-watering discomfort of a dust storm that couldnât be ignored.
âSo, tell meâwhat do you want?â
Whatever he might surmise, it certainly didnât hit even close to her next words.
âNothing less than what you owe me,â she said simply. âA date with you.â
CHAPTER TWO
S HE COULDNâT BELIEVE sheâd said that.
A date with you.
Her glance meshed with an annoyed hazel gaze.
She inhaled at her own daring. In her rashness, she hadnât paused to think, her pulse quickening even as she said the words that echoed like a battle call, a
shankh naad
of the olden war times when the conch shell blown into sounded the hoot of challenge.
âWhy?â
The succinct query threw her. âWhat do you mean why?â she snapped. âItâs the right thing to
âKicking their heelsâ, Vishakha had said. It couldnât be helped. The columnists were certainly going to have some fodder for tomorrowâs page three.
Hell, it hadnât even been his fault. The filming that should have finished this morning had been delayed till late afternoon. All thanks to Mia, his current leading lady. He knew her tantrums were designed precisely to drive him up the wall. He had to admit sheâd been succeeding admirably. Sheâd known he had a busy schedule today. She could wrap his PA around her charming finger and get that information with little effort. She hadnât let the shot be finalized till the director had come close to chewing off his fingers, his nails already long gone. The price the poor guy was paying for having a âheroineâ, as the old-fashioned term went, for a wife.
Thank God heâd escaped the traps Mia had set him when sheâd decided she should settle down for good. After witnessing his parentsâ fiasco of a marriage and a first-hand view of how spouses could wreak misery on each other, he had no wish to fall into that trap.
There was no difference between his father and a walking zombie where feelings were concerned and his mother had always lived up to the silent suffering wife stereotype. He knew sheâd been hurt so much, trapped in a marriage with a cold, indifferent man like his dad. No, his parentsâ relationship didnât inspire one to rush into the institution of marriage and he didnât want to get manacled any time soon. So heâd avoided Mia and her clever attempts to sink her elegant but deadly claws into him.
However, dodging the bullet had whetted the actressâs appetite that marital bliss with an upcoming director had failed to appease. Mia still pursued him in her own way. Sheâd tried to delay him so he would miss the charity programme and instead have to attend the after-shoot party she had organized. Sheâd known he wouldnât leave till the work was finished. Permission to shoot at Chittorgarh Fort had been given by the authorities for a limited time and the pack up had to be that day. So sheâd taken it on herself to interfere with his peace, and to an extent had succeeded.
His attention returned to Vishakha, chin tilted up, soft mouth pursed. She did have a point. He couldnât deny he was leaving just to meet his own engagements. It certainly wasnât going to be easy on his conscience to ignore her jibe.
Instinct rebelled against conceding to her. But, reluctant though he might be to give in to the reproach in her big brown eyes, he realized heâd have to if he hoped for a good nightâs sleep. Despite eight successful years in Bollywood, he hadnât lost touch with reality. The fans who had made him a huge success could pull him down any time. He never forgot those initial shoe-tearing, soul-wearing years of struggle and he never displeased people if he could help it.
The feeling which had been like a fly nagging him now assumed the eye-watering discomfort of a dust storm that couldnât be ignored.
âSo, tell meâwhat do you want?â
Whatever he might surmise, it certainly didnât hit even close to her next words.
âNothing less than what you owe me,â she said simply. âA date with you.â
CHAPTER TWO
S HE COULDNâT BELIEVE sheâd said that.
A date with you.
Her glance meshed with an annoyed hazel gaze.
She inhaled at her own daring. In her rashness, she hadnât paused to think, her pulse quickening even as she said the words that echoed like a battle call, a
shankh naad
of the olden war times when the conch shell blown into sounded the hoot of challenge.
âWhy?â
The succinct query threw her. âWhat do you mean why?â she snapped. âItâs the right thing to
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